Helping heavy industry clear the air
Heavy industry is a major contributor to climate change and responsible for emitting over a million tonnes of gaseous pollutants every year. In Europe, industrial processes account for 7 % of all greenhouse gases and nearly 877 million tonnes of CO2. The damage caused by this pollution extends well beyond climate change – it also impacts the health and well-being of EU citizens. According to one estimate, 90 % of EU citizens are exposed to harmful levels of pollutants above the air quality guidelines of the World Health Organization. Furthermore, air pollution produced by industry has been connected to approximately 600 000 premature deaths and countless other diseases. To help industry clean up its act, tech company Is CLEAN AIR Italia has developed an innovative, filterless air pollution abatement (APA) system for industrial processes. “Through its efficient method of cleaning and purifying ambient air, our APA technology lowers industry’s carbon footprint,” says Giuseppe Spanto, the company’s managing director. “In doing so, it plays an influential role in enabling a more sustainable manufacturing industry.” Supported by EU funding, the APA project brought the company's solution one step closer to marketisation.
More effective and targeted air purification
The APA system effectively cleans the air within a radius of 25-30 metres and, when deployed in clusters, potentially an entire industrial facility. The solution removes everything from particulate matter to heavy metals, hydrocarbons, pollen, spores, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and carbon. It does this using a patented centrifugal force process that converts the pollution into a water-based by-product that is easy to then process. “A key differentiator of our solution is that it can be positioned both in working environments on the ground level and at the air discharge points of industrial processing machines,” explains Spanto. “This means workers benefit from a more effective and targeted air purification, resulting in a healthier working environment.”
Moving towards marketisation
The company used the EU funding to develop the final trial and configuration of its solution in preparation for its market entry. Specifically, the company implemented and validated numerous installations in real-world polluted and polluting environments. “Our tests confirmed that our technological solution is able to successfully remove the widest range of harmful pollutants and even microorganisms as small as viruses,” adds Spanto. As the company turns its attention to marketisation, it has integrated its value chain with several leading industrial players and business partners, along with building up its own internal capacity. “We signed several technology transfer commercial and cooperation agreements that accelerate our marketisation efforts,” remarks Spanto. “We’ve also been granted patents in such key markets as Europe and the United States.”
A step change in air purification
According to Spanto, APA is now well-positioned to compete on the global market. “Our solution represents a step change in industrial air purification, one that will benefit the health and well-being of both the environment and people,” concludes Spanto. “Thanks to the support of the EU funding, we are now in a unique position to become a global leader in the ambient air cleaning and pollution abatement sector.”
Keywords
APA, heavy industry, air pollution, manufacturing, climate change, greenhouse gases, pollen, purification, carbon footprint